MANCHESTER UNITED YAFANYA MAUAJI KWA ARSENAL, YAIFUNGA 8-2

Robin van Persie insists Arsenal cannot blame a weakened team for their humiliating 8-2 defeat at Manchester United.
The Gunners were missing a string of key men through either injury or suspension - as well as recently-departed duo Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri - for the nightmare afternoon at Old Trafford that is arguably the most shocking result in the history of the Premier League.
Both Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson pointed to Arsenal's restricted options for the crushing defeat.

No hiding: Arsenal captain Robin van Persie insists the club's humiliating defeat at Old Trafford must not be blame on injuries and suspensions

But captain Van Persie hinted at real problems inside the camp by refusing to go along with that verdict.
The Dutchman, who struck one of the consolation goals against the champions, said: 'We need to come back. We have Swansea in two weeks, who are good opponents and I look forward to that.
'This was the strongest team we had. We gave our maximum but it was clearly not good enough.
'I don't think we can hide behind injuries or suspensions. It is no excuse. They had injuries too, this is football.'

Darkest day: Arsene Wenger could bare to watch as his side were thrashed by Manchester United

Arsenal now have until 11pm on Wednesday night to beef up their squad before the transfer window slams shut until January.
As well as finding a creative spark with Fabregas and Nasri gone, the Gunners are clearly desperate for reinforcements in defence.
Moves for Bolton's Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka of Everton are likely to be resurrected, while Wenger has finalised a move for Monaco striker Park Chu-young.
In the meantime, Van Persie is taking consolation from Arsenal's supporters, who continued to sing proudly throughout the hammering at United.

Down and out: Van Persie, who missed a first-half penalty, saluted the club's fans for their support

He added: 'That is one really positive thing. They were cheering us up all game for 90 minutes. We really appreciate that.
'Sometimes you see fans leaving early but I did not see that. When we went to the fans to thank them after the game, it looked like every seat was still full.
'That was a good feeling. I love that. It really cheered us up.'
Under-fire Wenger insists he will not quit and blamed the 'painful' thrashing on his depleted squad.

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He said: ‘The defeat is painful and I do feel humiliated. But quitting has never entered my mind. How much of the blame is mine? As much as you want it to be. The time for working that out is at the end of the season.
'I am in a public job and I have to accept that,' he added. 'I have to make the right decision for the club and I will continue to do that.
'We have played three games and I think you should give me more time to say if I have got it completely wrong.
'We had too many players out. It was too much.'
Even United manager Sir Alex Ferguson agreed and almost sounded apologetic for increasing his rival’s misery.
He said: ‘We could easily have had more goals, but, to be honest, I didn’t want to score more than eight. I was more than satisfied with the outcome.
‘Arsenal were very weakened, but you still have to do the job, which we did with some fantastic goals